Journal: People Science - Human Capital Management & Leadership in the public sector Volume 1, Issue 2 Spring/Summer 2014 | Page 10

HR

OPTIMIZATION Sector
In the PUBLIC

Allan Schweyer and Dr. Allen Zeman
Part 1

Summary
With expanding missions, budgetary constraints, and
shifting demographics, government agencies, non-profits,
hospitals and others need high performing talent at all
levels. Today’s public sector organization is fueled by
knowledge, it relies almost entirely on the strength and
depth of its human capital to achieve its mission. Human
Resources can no longer focus internally or concern itself
only with the operations of HR. To drive a high performing,
more innovative workforce, and to provide leaders with
insights for better decision-making, HR must become
part of mission delivery. HR Optimization means the most
senior HR executive − a Chief Human Capital Officer or
Chief HR Officer − reports to and regularly consults with
the senior leaders of the organization. It also means having
properly skilled and knowledgeable HR partners to help
achieve the mission and key priorities at all levels. The
first stage in HR optimization is to define your desired HR

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organization. This includes knowing where the organization
is now, where it wants to go, and why. Next, you should
look at the current skills and competencies of the HR
group. HR leaders should spend considerable effort
gathering HR competency requirements from internal
clients (i.e. line managers and supervisors) and some
time examining what other HR organizations across the
public and private sectors have done in their own efforts at
optimization. In determining the optimal HR organization,
pay less attention to what is “ideal” and more to what
is possible. For example, while a highly centralized HR
operation might yield important benefits, the likelihood
of being able to implement and sustain the structure is
low if the organization is decentralized as a whole, and/
or if a culture of distributed HR autonomy is in force
today. Find the right balance after considering all of the
variables and dynamics at play in your organization −

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